Captured
by Meredith A. Jones
Summary: Ian's out of jail, and how can he get Ben to come to him with money for credit for finding the treasure? Another hostage maybe...? CH. 7 FINALLY UP! READ!
1. Nonsense

Captured  
Chapter 1  
Nonsense

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the identical twins, Thomas Edison Gates and Andrew Jackson Gates.  
Author's Note: Hey there. A few things on this. I absolutely LOVE this movie and I'm glad I got a lot of reviews for "Keep Going"! This was written some time before I began "Keep Going," though. I think that one's better writing and maybe a better idea, although we'll see how this turns out.

This story takes place eleven years after the movie. It doesn't really get going until really chapters three and four. Be patient with it!!

**BIG NOTE**: This is a different time frame than what I said in "Keep Going," in case you feel like doing the math and telling me it's wrong. ONTO THE STORY!

_-May 15th-_

"Hey Ben," said Riley coming up behind Benjamin Gates. He followed his friend's gaze and gave a slight smile.

"You know, I can see little blotches where we spread the lemon juice," Riley laughed. Ben smiled and nodded.

"You should really take Tom and Andy here sometime. They'd be interested." Ben took his eyes off of the glass case, stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the door of the Archives building.

"They still don't know where the money came from," he said.

"Then tell them."

"I'm not setting a bad example for them. They shouldn't think that everyone should steal the Declaration of Independence. Especially their dad."

"Well where do they think the money came from?" Riley asked. Ben stopped and looked at him.

"Inheritance."

"Inheritance? Who in your family could have possibly died for you to become a millionaire?"

"Riley, they're both ten years old."

"Ten's old enough!" Ben stared at his friend for a while and continued walking. "I'm just saying I think you should tell them the story. That's all," Riley said quietly.

"No, I know. They'll be ready when I'm ready." The two descended the high staircase, piled into Riley's car, and drove to Ben's estate. When Ben unlocked the door and opened it, the pair found the two children running around the house, black waterguns in hand, one dressed in blue, and the other in red.

"Freeze or prepare to meet a most excruciating death!" cried the one in the blue.

"Tis you, not I, who shall be falling slain this day!" said the one in the red. He was positioned on the balcony upstairs, while the child dressed in blue was on the downstairs floor.

"Not if I can reach you first!" The blue child began scrambling up the stairs, and the red child jumped on the banister and slid down, only to trip off and land straight in front of his father. Ben raised an eyebrow, looking at the slightly Shakespearian war going on in front of his eyes, then down at his son.

"Hi, dad."

"Thomas Edison Gates..."

"It's the American Revolution, dad! Here, you can be a redcoat with me!" Tom turned around, but Ben put his hand on his shoulder.

"Andrew, come down here." Andrew Jackson Gates slumped down the stairs and stood next to Tom. Andy's hat slid over his eye, but he pushed it up with his hand which was covered with the oversized blue uniform.

"Where's your mother?"

"She's a POW," said Tom seriously. Riley hid a laugh, but Ben looked none too pleased. There was a pause and he grabbed a golden dish from the table near the door, held it in front of his chest and advanced on his sons.

"Take me to her, soldiers. Or you will experience three months grounding." He lowered his head a bit. The twins smiled, bowed, and Andy spoke softly to Ben.

"Right this way, sir." Riley awkwardly placed a basket on his head, and the four started through the kitchen, and down the hall to the very last door. Ben opened the door, and looked at his wife, sitting inside a closet among piles of blankets and pillows.

"Benjamin Gates," she said, smiling.

"I'm here to rescue you, Lady Abigail."

"And Riley," said Riley.

"And Riley," repeated Ben. He held out his hand for her, which she took and stood. Tom and Andy looked at each other, and ran in the other direction. Riley considered this a good idea, and followed the two children.

"So, have they been driving you crazy?" asked Ben, smiling.

"Not entirely." Abigail smiled. "Apparently I've found I'm capable of sitting in a linen closet for a half hour." She stood on her toes, and kissed her husband on the lips. Suddenly, yells emitted from down the hall. The two headed into the living room where Tom and Andy had nailed Riley on the ground. Ben smiled.

"Having fun?"

"They think I'm carrying a gun!" Riley shouted, kicking his legs around.

"Alright, both of you - enough of this Revolution nonsense." Tom and Andy both looked at their dad.

"It's not nonsense, dad," said Andy, struggling to keep Riley down. When he stopped fidgeting, he and Tom remained stationary, looking most disappointed.

"You didn't say that when we went to Egypt last year," said Tom.

"Or when we were in Fort Sumter in South Carolina two years ago..." The two got off of Riley, and stood up.

"I know, I know...it's not nonsense, you're right. I'm sorry." Ben said quickly, not really sounding the way he felt.

"Yeah. We are too," said Andy, "Come on, Tom." The identical twins went slowly up the stairs to their bedrooms, each taking off their hats, revealing their flattened reddish-blonde hair. Riley sat up on the rug and looked up at Ben.

"Nonsense?" he said.

"It just came out," said Ben. "I didn't mean it."

"Tell them, Ben."

"Not yet."

"Why? They'll end up finding out anyway - and - and when they do, they'll be angry with you because you didn't tell them before!"

"Look, Riley. We haven't had to worry about this before, and we still don't have to."

"Maybe you do now," said Riley, standing. "They need to know now, Ben." There was a pause and Riley sighed. "Think about it. See you later, man. Bye, Abigail."

"Bye," said Abigail. She left the room along with Riley, and Ben stood alone in the living room biting his tongue and thinking about how much his life could change if he told his two sons about the treasure...

A/N: Stay with me...AND REVIEW! Not posting chapter 2 til I get 5 reviews so (sticks tongue out)


	2. Another Adventure

Captured

Chapter 2

Another Adventure

A/N: If this story isn't my best writing, it's because National Treasure isn't the easiest category to write for. I'm much better at dialogue - but I can't do script-form on here, so I must accommodate my idea in novel form. Like I said, be patient with this one, it's gonna be good. This chapter goes a little fast...kind of brief too....but I decided to have stuff happen in this chapter.

That night, Ben made his way into his sons' bedroom. He approached the two beds holding Tom and Andy, and when he was sure that they were sleeping, he began looking around the large, decorated room. Every inch of the walls were covered with posters, souvenirs, tour tickets, maps, and magazine and newspaper clippings. On some walls, there were stained wooden shelves that held models, picture frames, and figurines. Ben picked up a wooden one of a Civil War drummer and ran his finger across its hat emblazoned by the army musician's mark.

"Nonsense..." he whispered to himself, guilt running through him. "How could I have said that?"

---::---

_-May 16th-_

"Alright, Mr. Howe, you're free to go." A woman sitting at a desk behind a window held out an orange ticket to Ian, who took it.

"Thank you," he replied.

"Just take the hall to the right and exit."

"Thank you," he repeated, and began walking with the man next to him. "Eleven years and you finally bail me out, Powell."

"It cost me a pretty penny, I can assure you that," said Powell, one of Ian's faithful henchmen. The blonde-haired man looked much different than he had. He was in need of a decent shower and clothes, and his hair and grown past his shoulders by now.

"Think of all the pennies we'll have once we get Gates," Ian said smirking, "He's the idiot that got me arrested and almost killed. I've figured it out, Powell."

"What do we do?"

"We take the girl."

---::---

_-May 17th-_

"The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson between June eleventh and June twenty-eighth of the year 1776. Now, The Declaration was signed in order to - yes, Mr. Gates?" Tom put his hand down slowly and looked at his teacher, Mrs. Wimbhold.

"Did you know that we're not even sure if the edition of the Declaration we have in the Archives is really the original copy?"

"Yes, Mr. Gates. It is said that Jefferson drafted more than one copy of the document. This is the sixth time you have interrupted today."

"Andy did four times! I only did twice!" said Tom.

"I did not interrupt four times! You interrupted four times!" said Andy.

"Okay, whatever," said Mrs. Wimbhold impatiently. The fifth grade teacher rubbed her forehead and continued.

---::---

"It's blue, Riley."

"I don't think so, it's more of a light purple," Riley whispered back.

"It's blue."

"It's purple!"

"It's bl - why am I arguing with you about the color of the skirt on the woman in front of us?"

"You tell me." Riley looked at his watch, and then up at the bustling scene. "Wow, sure is busy today.." The two stood behind the _'Please Wait To Be Seated'_ sign at a local restaurant.

"Mm.."

"So, have fun last night?"

"Hm?"

"I'm assuming you and Abigail..."

"Riley. I'm not accepting comments such as those as appropriate."

"I'm just wondering."

"Then stop wondering."

"I can take you gentlemen over here," the hostess said, and sat them down at a table near the window.

"I have to get back to the zoo soon," said Ben looking at his watch. "This better be fast."

"The watch or the food?"

"Both, actually," Ben said, looking out the window. Riley snorted. "It's great how you refer to a college as a "zoo". It must be so hard being a History professor." He rolled his eyes.

"Lunch is only forty minutes, Riley. I have to get back downtown in about twenty. Occupy me with more interesting conversation in the meantime." There was a pause where Ben stared over a plastic holder with the Specials in them, at Riley.

"Alright...how are things with Tom and Andy, then? Doing okay?"

"Yeah, I guess...they haven't talked much. I'll apologize after they get home from school. Abigail gets home early today - about now. I'm going to call her, just to check up on her." Ben extracted his phone from his pocket and dialed his home number. He sat listening to the ringing for a few seconds, hung up, and tried again. "Hm...she's not answering."

"Try again."

"I just did," said Ben hanging up for a second time.

"She's probably still on the road."

"Probably." The pair ordered and chatted through their meals when they arrived at the table. Soon they were through their lunch, and Ben drove back to the college and opened the door to his classroom two minutes late. He placed his glasses on his nose and went in front of the twenty-three students.

"Good afternoon. Sorry for being late, i was meeting a friend for lunch." Ben hung up his coat and clapped his hands together.

"You've all finished your Declaration of Independence Analyzation papers I hope?" There was a scattered shuffling of papers and the class took out their long reports from their bags, except for Cody Brinchel, who was busy studying her crush standing at the front of the room in front of the map of the United States..

"Cody, your report?"

"Oh, yeah...right..." Cody took her paper out and set it neatly on her desk, smiling at Professor Gates.

"So," started Ben, sitting at his desk, "When I call your name, please step forward and present to me your paper, and I'll make sure everyone has indeed done the entire thing. Grant, James." James stood, went to the desk, and set his paper in front of Ben, who flipped through it, smiled, and handed it back to him. "Thanks, James. Harvey, Megan." Megan stood and dropped her paper in front of Gates. He examined it, and again gave it back to her. "Brinchel, Cody." Cody smiled, elegantly walked to Ben's desk, and carefully put her report in front of him. He placed his fingers on it to pick it up when - the Battle Hymn of the Republic began playing. Ben removed his cell phone from his coat pocket and picked up.

"Ben Gates," he said.

"Hello, Ben."

"Who's this?" The man on the other side gave a small chuckle.

"The legend writ...the stain affected...The key in silence - "

"Ian?"

"That's right, Gates." Ben looked up at Cody's disappointed face, covered the microphone of his cell, and spoke to the class.

"I need to take this, everyone just please stay in your seats. Thanks." He got up, went out the door, closed it, and uncovered the mic.

"Are you out?"

"Yes I am, in fact."

"Enjoy your stay in the iron pen?" There was silence from the other side, then Ian spoke again.

"Gates, I have a proposition to make to you."

"Shoot."

"Ten thousand dollars. At the very least."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm the one that got sent to prison, but I did, after all, help you find the treasure."

"I see what this is about. You want credit. Even though you were the bad guy."

"I wouldn't consider myself the 'bad guy', Gates. Just someone who really does deserve more credit for the finding of the treasure, really."

"Sorry, Ian. All you did was make it difficult. I'm going to have to say no." He moved the phone from his ear and touched his finger to the 'End' button, just as Ian spoke again.

"I have your wife, Gates." Ben froze and lifted it back to his ear.

"So you think you can bribe me all the time by taking the people I care about as hostages?"

"It seems to work, don't you think?" This time, Ben was silent. "The longer you stand there like a goon, the longer the girl stays with us. You want that?"

"Let her go, Ian."

"Not without the money."

"Fine. Ten thousand dollars. In cash."

"Good. Very good. Now here's what you're to do..."

---::---

Ben dismissed the class and locked up his room. He jumped into his car and sped to his sons' school, which he entered, and went to the Main Office.

"Hi, I'm Ben Gates. I need to pick up my two kids from school - Thomas and Andrew."

"Is this important?" asked the school secretary. Ben considered the question and nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty important."

"Go down the main hallway, make a left, and it's the last classroom in the hallway."

"Alright, thanks." He took off down the hall, nearly knocking over a frightened-looking third grader, and flung Mrs. Wimbhold's door open. The entire class looked around at the door, along with the teacher, who frowned.

"Hello, Mr. Gates."

"Hi, uh, I need to take Tom and Andy."

"Good! Thank you! And where ever you're off to, take your time! Please!"

"Come on, guys, let's go." The twins shoved their books into their desks and met their dad at the classroom door.

"Where are we going, dad?" Tom said.

"Nowhere, come on," said Ben impatiently.

"We can't be going nowhere, dad. That's impossible," said Andy.

"Yeah," said Tom, "So where are we going?" Ben looked down at his children and sighed. "The Amazon."

"The Amazon _Rainforest_?" Andy said excitedly.

"Excuse me." Ben looked up at Mrs. Wimbhold coming up the aisle. "If you're leaving, go. You're disrupting the class."

"Well _Excuse me_." Ben said sarcastically, shuffling the twins out the door and into the hallway.

"Are we really going to the Amazon Rainforest, dad?" Tom said.

"The river," Ben replied, taking his cell phone out.

"How come?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. Yeah, Riley? Meet me at my house pronto. We've got a problem."

---::---

"He's got Abigail?" Riley said, beginning to panic. Ben was speeding down the thru-way at almost 80 miles per hour. Tom and Andy were both in the back, hanging onto their seats desperately.

"Mom?" Tom said, wide-eyed.

"Yeah."

"What's the point? Just for ten thousand dollars?" asked Riley, grabbing onto the handle on his door as Ben passed three cars.

"I have a feeling he wants more than the money."

"Are you giving it to him?"

"No. I'm getting my wife back."

"He's not going to give her back without the money. You do know that, right? WHOA - OH MY GOD!" A fairly large blackbird whizzed over the top of the car, just missing the windshield. Riley turned around in his seat and watch it fly off. "You're a maniac, Ben! Slow down!"

"I can't. No time. We have to get to the dock."

"The dock? We're driving to the shore?"

"Not the shore, Riley. The helicopter docking field."

"Helicopter? Unless you have a hell of a lot of money in that pocket of yours, we're not going to be able to get any helicopter."

"We're not paying for it, Riley."

"We're stealing it?" Andy said, nearly falling out of his seat, and quickly buckled himself up to compromise.

"That's the plan," Ben said. "We're going to - DAMN!"

"WHAT?" Riley jumped.

"I missed the exit."

"...Oh. Well, calm down, we've got two ten year olds in back."

"I know. I have to turn around."

"Turn around? Are you out of your mind?"

"Maybe." Ben looked in his rear-view mirror. He merged into the right lane, made sure the left lane was completely clear, made a U-turn into it, and began speeding in the opposite direction.

"BEN LOOK OUT!"

"I see it, Riley."

"YOU'RE GOING TO HIT IT!" A small sports car was heading straight for them and just missed them as Ben turned right and drove over the median into the other side of the road.

"There's the exit up there...don't miss it this time," Riley said trying to calm down, and putting his hand to his chest in hope of slowing his heart rate.

---::---

Ben pulled underneath the branches of a large tree. The tree was part of a forest that circled a large clearing. On the other side of that clearing was the area that housed over a hundred helicopters. Ben, Riley, and the twins climbed out of the car and began making their way across the field. Ben was at the head, with Riley following along behind, and the twins in the wake of him.

"This is insane. There are thousands of guards here. How are we going to get out alive?"

"We'll manage it. We managed to steal the D - " He stopped.

"Ben, just tell them," said Riley. The group stopped walking and Ben turned around to face Tom and Andy.

"What did you steal, dad?" Tom asked. Ben didn't answer, so Riley answered the question for him.

"The Declaration of Independence." The twins looked at each other, then at their dad.

"Why?" Andy said blankly.

"It was for a good reason," Ben said, then began walking again. Riley looked at the kids, then followed him.

A/N: It was getting long and I don't want the chapters to be too long for the sake of readability. Heh...next chapter comin' up! (after 5 more reviews.)

REVIEW REPLIES:

**caty**: haha I know I was trying to think of something for their names all day....came up with those! I'm glad you like em! Thanks for reading, i hope you stick around for the rest!!

**Galaxy3**: Ah, my faithful National Treasure fic reader. I'm glad you liked this chapter! I have a good next one already written!! I need 5 more reviews to post it though. Also, I have 2 more ideas for 2 more fics. Watch Keep Going for the next chapter, where I'm releasing a preview of one of them. The other is just a funny idea I had and shouldn't be more than 5 chapters. I'm glad you like everything lol!

**Wolfgirl54**: I can always count on you, Clark. Ha. You need badly to see National Treasure, my friend. You, being a Nic Cage fan, might die from the heat coming from the screen if you know what I'm on about. ;- Thanks for reviewing!

**DragonTamer**: You're right about hard to find good ones...there are only a few up. Thanks for the review and the read and stuff!

**Christina Miller**: LOL YAY! THANK YOU!!! I've had it written for a few days now! and 3 is done too hahaha. THANK YOU SO MUCH! enjoy reading!!!!

**Liz**: Heh...I told you, I'd think about it ;- Thanks for the comments on my names lol. National Treasure's still up at McKinley, I've been watching it!!! Hopefully Mrs. Springborne sets it up!


	3. Pirates

Captured

Chapter 3

Pirates

After a few minutes, they stopped a few yards from the lot, and Ben turned to his group, talking in a low voice.

"Okay...keep quiet and retain a low profile. I'm going to go in there, get the helicopter, and pick you up here."

"Shouldn't I come with you, Ben?" Riley asked.

"No. I'm not leaving the kids alone, and I'm not taking them with me. Also, if you come, that's one more person, increasing the risk of being spotted. Stay with me, here. I've got it all planned out."

"Good luck, Ben," said Riley, as his friend nodded and took off for the lot. Riley had been right. There were a ton of guards patrolling the area. Ben hid behind a storage garage and looked around for a possible candidate for flying to Brazil and back. He slowly poked his head around the corner and saw a guard heading in the direction of his face. Luckily, the man in black had his head turned looking around a different corner. Ben pulled back and creeped around the other side of the garage and into a bush, where he thought. _How to get them away...I'd have to get them all in one place where I could see them...yes...but how? Oh...well this should have been obvious...a distraction. A large distraction. Something to get them all assembled in one throng. A...an explosion, a fire._ Ben reached in his pocket, and dug everything out of it. Out came a nail clipper, 3 pennies, a nickel, a paperclip, a piece of string, and - _Matches. I'm glad I took these from the tray at_ _Giuseppi's last night._ Ben looked around himself and climbed out of the bush. He snuck behind a storage garage, and looked at the front of it, where a door was standing open. He made sure the coast was clear, got himself into the garage, and looked around for something to light. He did a double take at the corner, where a tire sat. He smiled to himself.

"Perfect." Ben made his way to the rubber circle and picked it up. It was light, easy to throw. He had to be able to throw it fast. If he didn't, when he lit it, he would end up burning his arm. He peeked around corners, stepped out, grabbed the matches, stroke one, and put it inside the tire. Then threw it towards a guard, who screamed and fell over. The other guards, just as Ben had planned, hurried towards the scream. Ben made his move. He ran for his life as far away from the scene as he could, spotting a large helicopter up ahead. He jumped into it closed the door, and looked around at the controls.

"Oh, man. I have _no_ idea how to fly a helicopter." He gritted his teeth, slammed his head against the dashboard, and after a few seconds, lifted it again and took a more careful look at everything. It was complicated. So many knobs and buttons and levers and ropes. _A glove compartment...I need a manual...a how-to._ He looked out the door window at the fire, and saw that it was still burning. He still had time. He looked around the pilot seat, and found two compartments, both empty. He stood up as far as he could, and moved towards the back, where he spotted a 7 inch thick book strapped to the wall. His heart dropped, but he unstrapped the book, sat back in the pilot seat, and scanned the overall starting steps and how to maintain control over the craft, then followed them.

"Okay...we're started up...now...altitude...altitude..." he thumbed the pages and finally found what he was looking for. He set the book on the floor, pulled the collective lever next to him, and he began to ascend slowly. He smiled, grasping the steering wheel, and began by flying low in order to get to Riley, Tom, and Andy. He found the three below him, opened the door, and threw out the rope ladder.

"RILEY!" Ben shouted downward, holding onto the door, and leaning out. "LET THE KIDS GO UP FIRST, AND THEN YOU COME UP IN CASE ONE OF THEM FALLS!" Riley gave a thumbs up, helped Tom and Andy get on, and then got on himself.

"HEY!" Riley looked forward. A guard was running toward the helicopter, and he brandished a handgun.

"BEN, GO!" Ben looked out the window, sat in the seat, and moved the cyclic control forward fast. A shot rang out through the air, and Tom, Andy's...and Riley's screams were heard from below. Ben kept fast, though hoping that he wouldn't go too fast and lose control. Once he was clear from the dock, he kept the helicopter progressing forward, went and opened the door, and opened it.

"CLIMB UP!" Riley and the twins were almost too afraid to move, but had to to get up into the helicopter.

"Come on, Tom," Ben said, leaning out and holding out his arm. Tom looked up fearfully at his father, and began climbing, slowly, up the rope ladder. Ben flexed his hand, and looked in the direction the craft was moving, glad there were no obstacles in the air that would give them the chance of crashing. When he looked back, his son was just a foot from his outstretched arm. He pushed himself to stretch further, and leaned out still more. "Grab my hand!" Tom's knuckles were white, holding on tightly to the rope. He uncurled the fingers of his right hand from it, and pushed it out in front of him, grabbing onto his father's hand. "Ready?" Tom nodded, and Ben pulled as hard as he can on the boy, thrusting him into the cabin. He then proceeded to help Andy, and then Riley. When all four were safely inside the cabin, Ben rolled up the ladder, shut the door, and sat himself back in the pilot seat. Riley sat in the seat next to him, and the twins sat on the floor against boxes in the back.

"We've got a long flight ahead of us," Ben said. "What I want you to do, Riley, is read, and memorize, that manual there." Riley looked at it, eyes growing wide.

"You want me to read all that?"

"If we're going to have a successful trip, you're going to have to," Ben replied, glancing back. Riley pulled the book towards him, heaved it onto his lap, and opened it to read. He looked up at Ben after about a minute.

"A - a few things while they're on my mind. Do we have any food?"

"Check in the crates," Ben replied, shrugging, "If nothing there, we'll have to find something when we get there. In the meantime, we just...fast." Riley sighed and asked his second question.

"Do you know how to get to the Amazon, Ben?"

"No, but I know I'm going in the right direction. There's a compass here, see?" Ben indicated it on his left. "Look for a map in the manual or something." He looked around, and got the vehicle going faster. Tom and Andy looked at each other, and nodded.

"Hey, dad...are you like...a pirate?" Andy said. Ben looked back at his sons, and gave them the most honest of honest answer.

"No."

"Well...did you really steal the Declaration of Independence?"

"No," Ben replied. Riley shifted his eyes in his friend's direction, impatient. Silence. It stayed this way a long time. Until a few hours later, the sky became gray...

A/N: That's the end of that! More after!! Cliffies are great. haha. ;-

* * *

REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER 2:

**Celebwen Telcontar** - Uh, I'm just making it more true to the movie....I don't normally do stuff like that...I'll read it though because I'm nice like that. Thanks for reading anyway!

**little cosette** - and as you see I have! ha thanks for reviewin! Oh, and I like your penname ;-

**becc-gallanter** - I hope you liked this one! I'm glad you like the story - cuz uh - I LIKE IT TOO haha. Thanky much!

**moo27** - Thanks, that means a lot coming from a reviewer! Keep reading, it'll be good...i hope. One more review!!!!!

**Scifi Kane** - It's reviews like these that really motivate me to write new chapters!! Thanks so much, I'm glad you're enjoying my writing! Good luck on that history paper ;- And now I can post this chapter! yay! Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll definitely keep writing!!

**Mercury Gray** - Wow, thanks!!! It's January 2nd and I got 5 REVIEWS TODAY! I'm so glad they put the National Treasure section on !!! I'm really pumped to write chapter 4 now - I just saw the National Archives on FOX with an ad for National Treasure in it. And hopefully, since I'm setting it up, my History Club at my school is going to go see it!!! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Liz** - (review for chapter 1) I KNOW! YOU'VE TOLD ME 50 THOUSAND TIMES! I think you're just doing this to get in the review responses at the end of the story. evil thing, you.

**Dragon Tamer** - Ha you have no idea how many times I've been called brilliant. And it boosts my conscience! lol Thanks for readin, likin, and reviewin!! Chapter 3 on it's way....Your review makes 7 in one day!!!!! Thanks!!

**CoolMorganM** - WOW - 8 REVIEWS? I am REALLY glad that put this section in here!!! If you haven't already, add me to your Author Alert! There's much more to come! Thank you a lot, I really appreciate all this, guys!

**Galaxy3** - Hahahaha I think I love your reviews most of all, hun. lol. I just got this before I posted this chapter...so...BE HAPPY! Sorry about school...my first day back was today...blegh. Anyway, I hope you liked the update!!


	4. Arrival At Haiti

Captured

Chapter 4

Arrival At Haiti

A/N: I wonder why he has a white shirt on and gets wet...hmmm....(ponders this, holding my Nic Cage doll) Oh, and Liz gets good news at the end of this. She'll just have to read to find out, though. ;-

Here they go to Haiti...and I have a picture right here for you! Copy and paste it into your browser...hopefully this works. http:www.lukas.no/forall/haiti/haitimarket.jpg

Oh yes...and Papi is pronounced Pah-pee. (that looks weird)

---::---

Andy's head shot up at the sudden sound of thunder and at this he was instantly awakened. The helicopter was being rocked back and forth dangerously by the harsh wind, and the only other sounds were of the helicopter blades cutting through the thickening air, the faint creaking of metal, and Riley's hammering snoring. He was sprawled out on the cabin floor, huddled up to the twins, his arm laying motionlessly across Tom's gently heaving form. Ben was bored, sitting in the pilot seat, a National Geographic sitting on the dashboard, his glasses on his nose, and his hand propping up his head. He would look up occasionally to make sure the storm wasn't worsening, or to see if they were still on course by checking the compass, or to check the map when he spotted a dominant landmark below. But now unfortunately, with the storm, none were visible.

"Dad?" Andy said quietly. Ben turned his head with a brief 'mhm?' and his son crawled into the passenger seat beside him. The 10 year old looked up at his dad, the dim cockpit light somewhat illuminating his face.

"I was thinking earlier...did you really steal the Declaration of Independence?" Ben stared at Andy a while, closed his magazine, set it on the floor, and placed his glasses on the cover. Then he looked up at his son with a blank expression. Andy took that as a 'yes' and a smile almost instantly spread across his face.

"You did?" Ben nodded guiltfully, but his younger son's grin persisted.

"Awesome!"

"Shh..." Ben said, looking behind him to check if his other son and his best friend were still sleeping. Another roll of thunder broke the new silence, and a bolt of lightning streaked the sky with a sharp cracking noise. Ben turned his head forward again and looked through the windshield, squinting through the rain.

"I can't see where we're going anymore," said Ben, running the windshield wipers, but it only streaked the glass worse. He decided to open the door and stick his head out. It was raining hard, and massive raindrops drenched Ben's head, and white button down shirt. He had taken off the tie he had been wearing and put it with his magazine on the floor. Wind whipped through his hair, the rain in turn soaking it. They were flying into fog. Ben looked below him at the rough, churned water of the Atlantic Ocean about 20 feet down and realized it would be clearer if they flew lower still. He pulled himself back in, slammed the door shut, wiped his face on his sleeve that was rolled up to his elbows, and smoothed his hair back.

"What's up?" Andy asked, getting more comfortable in the passenger seat.

"There's a fog ahead. We need to go lower," Ben replied, his hand finding the collective lever. He lowered it and they began to descend slowly to ten feet. The air was clearer, but there was still nothing to spot ahead. Just more and more ocean. Andy sighed at the disappointing sight.

"Wake me up when we reach the Caribbean," he said, and crawled back to Riley and his brother. Ben checked the compass and the map again, bored once more. He found himself deep in thought, hoping to hell that his wife hadn't been hurt or killed. He double-checked the map, squinted at the Caribbean Islands, and made the quick decision to break at one of them, where they could purchase fuel, food, and supplies. They were running low on all three, which Ben discovered after glancing at the fuel gauge. He sighed, picked up his glasses from the floor, and looked more carefully at the tiny islands, the map in front of him on the steering wheel. They could land on almost any one of them if there was a dock. The pontoons on the bottom would allow them to land in water, but it would be difficult, so he practiced. He descended, and experimented how gently he could land on the surface. He did this almost the entire night, until he felt he could do it in his sleep. Then, he did, incidentally, find himself slumped over the wheel.

---::---

Ben's eyes stung horribly when he opened them in the morning. He had only gotten a few hours in, and the sun was burning sharp rays through the windshield onto his face. When Riley, now at the wheel, found that his friend had lifted his head, he smiled.

"Morning, sunshine," he said brightly, looking back out the windshield. Ben groaned, holding his hand in front of his eyes.

"Where are we?" Ben mumbled, sitting up straight.

"About a single mile from the Caribbean islands," Riley replied optimistically. "I decided to take over when I saw you'd like...died in the cockpit here." Ben rubbed his eyes tiredly, and Riley shrugged. "You told me to read the manual, I read the manual, now I'm flyin' this thing."

"Where are the kids?"

"Out sitting on the pontoons," Riley returned off-handedly. Ben panicked and threw open his door, looking down at the twins lounging on the huge white ovals, about 5 feet from the water.

"Ah, let 'em have fun. We gotta get off soon, Andy said you wanted to stop somewhere around here, correct?"

"Haiti," Ben said automatically, trying to forget his father-like attitude, and closing the door.

"Right," Riley said, looking out the side window.

"Can I please - " Ben said rather harshly, making to get in the pilot's seat again. Riley agreed, and switched. Ben lifted the map to his face, finding his glasses on the floor and setting them on his nose. He looked up at the compass and nodded.

"We're going the right way. Haiti's almost due South from our position."

"Good news," Riley said, lifting his feet onto the dashboard. He sighed. "Say anything about the treasure to the twins?"

"Andy. He woke up last night and we talked about it briefly. He's probably already told Tom, so there's really no sense in mentioning it to him." Riley nodded, and the two began scanning the water for any signs of land.

"See anything?"

"Not yet," Ben said. A few minutes passed, and Ben extended his finger forward. "There," he said. Riley followed his finger and smiled.

"Land, ho! Great job, Ben." He pat his friend on the back, smiling all around.

"Alright, get the twins in, I'm gonna start to land this thing," Ben said, re-consulting the map and compass confirming that the island that they were nearing was indeed Haiti. Riley obeyed quickly, calling Tom and Andy back into the craft.

"Are we landing now?" Tom asked excitedly, climbing into the back of the cabin with Andy.

"Yeah," Ben said. "Okay, on the count of three, I'm going down, so everybody hold on tight. Alright? Are we alright?" There were nods and signs of comprehension, and Ben looked around at the controls thinking of what he had gone through about twenty times the night before.

"Okay," he whispered to himself, repeating each step carefully. They descended, and soon they were skimming lightly on the top of the water, which was coming up from the pontoons and giving the windows a light mist.

"Do you see the dock? I don't see the dock," Riley said, looking along the shore.

"I see the dock," said Ben, concentrating hard on it. As they neared the island, the dark faces of the inhabitants were visible, all turned towards the strange white helicopter approaching the shoreline.

"Okay. Ben. You're cuttin' it a little close, we're there...you gotta stop - " There was a sickening cracking noise, as the head of the chopper somewhat collided with the dock, as Ben had stopped just a second too late. A few people gasped and exchanged glances, while the four climbed onto the dock. Riley tied the helicopter to a pole on the dock with the rope ladder, and Ben looked around, holding up his hand.

"Hi," he said, in a somewhat 007 fashion. There was a pause while people just stared, then a bald man with nothing on but a colorful beaded skirt around his waist came up to them, smiling.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey, man with skirts of many colors," Riley said. The bald Haitian seemed amused, and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello man with the little whiskers on his chin." Riley frowned at this, but Ben let out a bit of a smile and cut in.

"We're on our way South, and we're in need of certain...provisions before we can continue on our course. Could you possibly point us in the direction of some kind of place where we would go about purchasing said provisions?"

"It depends what kinds of things you're looking for," the bald man replied, glancing at the helicopter, which a few other islanders were eyeing appraisingly.

"Uh...food, equipment, fuel for the helicopter...things like that," Ben said. The Haitian nodded and smiled again, revealing a mouth full of yellowing teeth. Some were missing. "Papi," he said, extending a hand.

"Ben, Riley, Tom, and Andy," Ben said gesturing to each member as he presented them, and then shook Papi's hand. He nodded once more, motioned for them to follow him, and began leading them to the village. It was much different here than in D.C. The sun was shining all around them. It's rays bounced off of everything it fell upon, making the entire island shimmer like a decorative tropical Christmas tree ornament - even if they were only getting onto a long sandy road through the marketplace. The place was also crawling with an explosive dry heat, and the air was over 100 degrees, not even a light breeze to stir and relieve the air of it. Ben began to wish that he was the one wearing the long beaded skirt...but the wish faded quickly before it was even finished running through his head. Riley was probably the warmest of all of them, wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a denim jacket.

"As Papi guided the group through the village, Ben noticed that most of the people on the island were friendly, and some of them, instead of shooting unwelcoming and suspicious looks at the strangers, were smiling at them instead. He also noticed that no one else was dressed like Papi - they were all dressed normally, mostly in bright colors, wearing clothes very much unlike Papi's. He looked at Riley, who had been busying himself checking out younger Hatian women, and frowned.

"What are you doing?" Riley's head turned at the sound of Ben's low, stern voice.

"N-Nothing," Riley replied, clearly guilty. Ben shook his head and began to look around, fascinating by the busy scene and wishing that he had a camera and a notebook. They soon passed a man sitting in a wooden chair, a metal bowl sitting next to him, playing with astounding skill on a steel drum. Ben decided to stop and watch.

"Riley, do you have - ...Riley?" Riley wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Ben guessed that he had either been swallowed up by the crowd or had gotten an invitation to somewhere...

"Come on, Dad, keep moving, we're going to lose him!" Andy said, hurrying his father along after Papi. They reached a small shop, where Papi led them inside and up to the counter.

"Bonjou, Jojo," he said to the man at the counter.

"Ah, Papaca! Kouman ou ye?"

"N'ap boule, N'ap boule." Papi turned to the group. "Excuse me," he said, and began talking in a low voice to the man at the counter.

"Tout bagay anform?" Jojo said, glancing at Ben, Tom, and Andy.

"Wi, wi - " The two continued speaking in fast Creole, Papi clearing negotiating with the clerk. Jojo looked up and nodded.

"Wi! What can I get for you all?"

---::---

Ben, Tom, and Andy headed back to the dock, carrying their supplies. Ben hauled the fuel while Tom and Andy carried sacks full of hot dogs, coal, a lighter, a hand compass, and many other supplies that would be useful when they reached the Amazon rain forest.

"Alright. everyone in. Where's Riley?" Ben looked around and walked to the end of the deck where a pile of clothes and tennis shoes was laying. His eyes widened, afraid to look up. He did though, and wasn't at all surprised at what he saw, knowing Riley for so many years now.

"Please tell me you're not swimming naked in the Caribbean Sea," he said blankly. This was followed by giggles from a few Haitian women standing behind Ben on the dock. Riley smiled.

"Might be. Wanna join me?" More giggles.

"No. Get in the helicopter."

"Okay." Riley began swimming towards the ladder up out of the water.

"Wait, no - FREEZE! Uh... Oh God, Riley. Here - take your clothes." Ben threw Riley's belongings down to the ledge, which Riley sat upon, dressing himself again. He climbed up and looked at his friend, who gave him that _what am I going to do with you _look. Riley smiled and pat Ben on the shoulder.

"If you're going to do this again - "

"Come on, relax. And stop acting like the worried mother of a kindergardener." When Tom and Andy had both gotten into the cabin, Ben jumped up into the helicopter first and turned to wave 'goodbye' to everyone on the island. Riley heaved himself into the cabin, only to bump Ben's shoulder, causing the large can of helicopter fuel to slip from his hands into the water.

"Riley!" Ben shouted, ready to pull out his hair.

"Oh, damn - I'm sorry, Ben, I'm sorry..."

"Never mind," Ben grumbled, jumping back onto the dock to quickly consider his options. They were running out of fuel, and if they didn't have enough to last them until they reached the rain forest, they would break down in the air and crash, most likely causing them to all explode. The other thing that could happen was if the can made contact with the reef and burst open, the water would become highly contaminated and poison the plant and animal life living along it. He could only do one thing. He needed to get the fuel.

"What are you gonna do?" Riley called out the door. Ben looked up at him, still thinking.

"Riley," he said finally, "Let the rope ladder down into the water. If something goes up, I can climb back out." He rolled his sleeves up higher.

"What are you doing, you're going to jump in? Wha - Ben!" Ben dove into the Sea, feeling a cold rush or water wash over him like a thin blanket of ice.

"He's insane," Riley said simply and vaguely, shaking his head and releasing the rope ladder, "You're father's insane." He dropped it, and Tom and Andy peered over the edge of the helicopter floor, worried. Down below, Ben was having a hard time seeing, but was supremely relieved when he spotted the sparkle of the reflector that was stuck to the side of the fuel can. He swam deeper, reaching out in front of him, desperate to grab the handle. The sun seemed to dissolve above him, disappearing into the darkness and the shadows of the massive reef. It was starting to get too dark for Ben to see his own hand in front of him, or the gentle glint of the diving watch on his left wrist. With a single finger and a particularly violent swipe, he caught the edge of the cap, hoping it wouldn't pop open, but cut his finger on it in the act. He bit his tongue and tried to hold back the tiny bit of pain, but had to time to break, as he was becoming extremely dizzy from lack of oxygen. He quickly pulled it up far enough to grasp the handle in his other hand, and propel himself up off of the reef. When the top of his head was almost a foot away from the surface, he began to feel his energy being drained from him, and latched his foot on the rope ladder next to him. He opened his eyes again another moment to see the gleaming eyes of a large fanged fish and a small cloud of blood from his fingertip. The next thing he knew, his head felt like it weighed 100 pounds, there was a sharp piercing pain near his shoulder, and the remainder of the air in his lungs left him through his mouth and nose.

A/N: In case you were wondering, I don't really have a Nic Cage doll. lol. Sorry, fellow Cage fans, I don't have an EBay account either if I were to sell said hypothetical Nic doll.

The helicopter stuff was surprisingly easy to write this time for some reason. I haven't read anything since the last chapter. I wrote from the beginning up to "after glancing at the fuel gauge" during study hall at school. I feel so proud of myself. And the Creole stuff I found on this cool website that proved very very useful. Anyway, there's LOTS planned and LOTS on the way. You gotta keep reading though!! (reviews don't hurt either)

NOTE ABOUT HAITI: Just in case you would like to counter the friendliness of the Haitians...they're at the GOOD part of Haiti - the other part is.....not so good to say the least. So to make for a semi-happy story, I have made the people nice. lol.

REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER 3:

**Mercury Gray** - Yes, I love the reviews! lol. I liked this chapter, just because they got to hijack the chopper and I got to look up a vague way how to run one. LOL I love the idea about the twins helping with Ian - I'll do that haha thanks! Thanks AGAIN for reading!!!

**Scifi Kane** - Hahaha you just made me a very happy 13 year old, yanno? Heh...well thanks again, I'm kinda likin' this reviewing!!! I forgot...did you read Keep Going? If not, READ. lol...I'm sure you'll find that one's good too. Ha...anywho, I'm going to go type what I wrote of Chapter 4 in my notebook now and you shall get this when I post it! Happy Canadian history paper!

**Liz** - Liz, darling. You stalk me in school. You harass me in reviews. Bah! Oh, and the thing I said today - about making you a native with a loincloth, I was kidding. hahaha. Thanks again for reading. lol. Weirdo. ;- P.S. Next history club meeting, I'm bringing my DVD player and I will MAKE you watch part of Matchstick Men. You have been warned.

**DragonTamer** - Yay Ben! lol...well, you got the next chapter, so how did you think of THIS ONE??

** Megan** - It wouldn't hurt for you to try writing one!! If you did, I'd definitely read and review!! Thanks so much for reading mine - I hope you continue with it!! And it was kinda funny you reviewed because my friend was just nagging me online to post the next chapter and I was like: I DONT HAVE 5 REVIEWS and then you review hahahaha. Thanks! 

A/N: Just a thought about National Treasure being one of my favorite movies as of now...how can anyone pass up a movie with a bunch of hot guys chasing after treasure??? (Assuming someone reading this likes Ian....) Too many people like Riley though lol.

And so now you're in suspense. Cool. It'll be a while until the next chappie just because a lot more stuff needs to happen. I'm glad people like this lol.


	5. DC, We Have A Problem

Captured

Chapter 5

D.C., We Have A Problem

A/N: Here's another picture of Haiti: 

_Fri 14:_ I've been sick the last couple of days...so I've pretty much been laying around all day. But now, I can actually go to the computer and type the stuff I wrote in my Black Notebook...I'd like to scan some Black Notebook stuff into my computer and put it on my site. One of these days I need to just go on that website editor, and fix some stuff. It's getting kind of boring. This chapter's kind of short, to first, save your eyes, and to second, save the suspense and the really evil cliffie I left. So, do me (and yourself, really) a favor and READ.

"PULL HIM UP! PULL HIM UP, HE'S HURT!" Riley was shouting frantically at the top of his lungs. "COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING? PULL HIM UP!" Tom and Andy, almost too afraid and panic-stricken to move, regardlessly began tugging on the rope ladder, which Papi and a younger woman raced down the dock to help with. Riley was still standing in the helicopter with the twins, pulling the strongest of all, and was delighted, but not slowed down, when he saw the top of Ben's head reach the surface. Papi secured his part of the rope ladder and walked down the steps into the water, untangled Ben's leg from the rope, and swam with him up to the dock. Once he got there, he took off at a run down the path up to the town, and Riley and the twins leaped onto the dock. Riley kneeled down beside his best friend and began lightly tapping the side of his on, Ben...wake on, please..." Ben lay completely still on the cold, wet wood, but there was a sudden leap of his heart and he began breathing again, unsteadily at first, but it came. He could now feel a tiny splinter of the torn and chipped dock waning its way through his skin and the warmth of the Caribbean sun, and Riley's breath touching his face, and eventually, his voice, sounding about a million miles away. Riley gave a tiny sigh and smiled a bit. Ben was still afraid to move, and began to feel a burst of pain shoot through his hurt arm, which caused him to wrench his eyes together, and open them soon after.

"Welcome back." Ben forced a tiny smile in return and looked at his other hand, which continued to grasp firmly to the fuel can. The younger woman, clearly Papi's daughter, also knelt down beside Ben and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Riley immediately frowned and stood, beginning to think that he should have pretended to be dead, and was angry and relieved all at the same time at his friend. Papi returned to the dock with bandages and a jar of clear fluid. His daughter stood and faced Riley.

"You know, you're not very bright," she said, with a heavy Creole accent, the phrase barely heard inbetween it.

"Thanks for the kind words of condolence," Riley said grudgingly.

"As if you need the condolence," Ben said, not expressing any pain as Papi worked on the repairing of his arm.

"Mika," the girl said.

"Riley," Riley said back, uncomfortable in her presence, still recovering from the insult. She shook her head, turned, and disappeared up the road.

---::---

"Are you sure you still want to fly this thing?" Riley said, climbing into the passenger seat after Tom and Andy situated themselves in the back of the cabin.

"Completely sure. I don't feel a thing." Ben looked at the full fuel gauge, gave a slight smile to himself, and fired up the helicopter.

"Okay," Riley sighed, slamming shut the door and making himself comfortable. Ben looked out the window at Papi's smiling face, and he waved, returning the smile. The helicopter gave a lurch back and took off upwards, and soon the island of Haiti was just a green speck in the water. A few seconds passed, and Riley slouched back in his chair, putting his feet up on the dashboard.

"Okay I'm bored," he said simply. Ben ignored it just as simply and adjusted himself so that his injured left arm was jammed securely in an indent in the door, and rested in the seat. Andy sighed and picked up the National Geographic magazine that was laying around on the cratered cabin floor.

"You know once we get there, we're going to have to find Ian," Riley pointed out vaguely, gazing absently out the window.

"I'm working on that," Ben replied, getting a bit bored himself from looking at and passing through cloud after identical cottony cloud.

---::---

Minutes passed. And as the minutes passed, hours went by; each one longer than the last. Ben looked over at Riley, who was now sound asleep. He turned the cockpit light off, and peered into the back where Tom and Andy were also both asleep, jumbled in the coarse blanket and the magazine. He yawned, checked his watch, and looked forward out the window, where the sun was just beginning to sink lower in the sky, giving it the lightest pink haze. But there was something else in the scene out the window: land. Ben's heart skipped a beat and he shook Riley awake.

"Riley! Wake up, we're there!" Riley responded with a small moan, lifted his head from the side of the door, and wiped a smudge of drool from his face.

"Tom, Andy - get up!" The twins stirred, and sat up in the cabin.

"Whoa!" Tom said, looking out the tiny window in the back.

"We did it, dad!" Andy said.

"Okay, I'm going to land it." Ben fastened his hand on the collective and pushed it forward, but it wouldn't move. He checked around the lever, making sure a loose screw or piece of plastic didn't find itself in the way. When he found this idea negative, he looked up at the fuel gauge, where the pin was ticking back and forth dangerously. Riley saw this as well and looked out the window.

"Uh-oh...D.C. - we have a problem." Ben's mind jumped into action, thinking of what they could do, and as usual, trying to ignore the obvious option, and looking around him for others. Out the window, the nose of the copter was becoming horribly close to the water's surface, and a creaky gurgling sound came from somewhere behind the cabin, followed by a loud _Bang!_

"Dad!" Tom cried, panic in his voice, calling his father back from his mind. Ben still stared into space, still trying to avoid his idea. The helicopter lurched forward, and another violent clanging sound came from the back.

"DAD!" Tom said louder, his voice cracking.

"Okay," Ben said calmly, raising his voice above the noise. Everyone listened. "Here's what we're going to do. Put everything in the sack."

"Then what?" Riley asked.

"We jump."

"Whoa, no way, Ben. Your arm - " Anger began to build up inside of him. If he felt a little bit of pain, it wouldn't affect him the least bit. What he was thinking about was Tom, Andy, and Riley.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY ARM, JUST DO IT! WOULD YOU RATHER WE DIE?" he snapped back. Riley backed off, sighed, and started clearing the floor off along with Tom and Andy. Ben did as much as he could with one hand and soon everything was packed. He opened the door and looked below. Riley came up behind him and looked at his friend's face, screwed up against the wind and the noise.

"What are we waiting for?" Riley shouted over the rushing wind.

"We need to get closer," Ben yelled back, as an even louder clanging sound erupted and a few tiny sparks passed by their noses. Riley squeezed the pilot seat as the helicopter lurched again, his knuckles turning from a bright red to white. Ben stepped an inch forward.

"Now?" Riley called hopefully, his other hand grasping the sack tightly.

"Now!" And the four jumped, one by one, out the door, towards the dark ocean, just as an explosion of fire, char, smoke, and metal filled the pink tinted sky. The saltwater was cold, and Ben's mouth became filled with it, as his head slammed past the surface tension of the water following his feet. His arm had indeed ached immensely at the impact, and he squeezed his eyes shut trying to endure and forget about it, trying to think more about the three other members of his party, praying that they had all made it out of the mess of smog as he had. When the thunder of the explosion subdued, he found himself above the water again, where he took in an enormous gulp of air and coughed out the ocean water.

"_Ow_!" Ben spun around, looking at the bobbing head of Riley, that had just gotten hit by a falling piece of metal. His purple palm was rubbing through that wet, messy forest of black hair.

"Good, you're alright!" Ben said proudly, though unable to smile. "Hanging onto that sack still?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Riley said, "Where are Tom and Andy?" As if on cue, there were two simultaneous gasps from behind the pair, and the twins emerged from the water.

"Dad!" Andy said, clinging to his father for dear life. Ben put his good arm around his son, and Tom fought hard on his own for the water to stay below his ears.

"Now what?" Riley said.

"What else? We swim to shore," Ben said. Riley looked in the direction of the shore, which seemed miles away. What he saw really was the effort and work they'd have to put in after just jumping out of an exploding helicopter. His soaked shoulders fell.

"Ben, it's far. It's like, 40 feet." Ben felt that wave of anger rise inside him again.

"It's interesting you say that, Riley. It's like you think we have another choice. If you have one, I would be pleased if you'd enlighten me because all I see here is door number one, staying here until we drown and die, or door number two, where we swim that 40 feet, go to sleep, and the next morning find Abigail and eventually make our way safely home. Now, what would _you_ like to do?" He waited a few minutes, and let himself cool down a bit, looking at Riley, who was now looking away at the shore again.

"Swim," he muttered, when he figured out that Ben wanted an answer, or thought that he did. Ben stared at Riley for a while, his face softening. He put a hand to his head and took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm sorry. This isn't easy, okay? Everything has to be done fast or...no go, you know? We die, Abigail dies, and - and it's just over, we did this for nothing. This whole trip for no product. I'm sorry I yelled at you back there and - and just now, but I just can't afford - I just can't - we just can't - " Riley shook his head.

"No, I know."

"I just need you to cooperate..." Ben trailed off.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. Come on, lets just do this." Riley turned, shivering, and led the way towards the green.

A/N: Okay, peeps. If you've seen Matchstick Men, please read my fics. Cuz they're beginning to collect dust lol.

I've had this done for quite some time. About 2 weeks actually. But I've been too lazy to type all of it lately, and I can't really use the excuse that I was sick since Thursday because I went home that day and stayed home again on Friday, and I could have done a little more when I was able to sit at my computer on Friday. I had all weekend to and Martin Luther King day....laziness. Sorry about it. Hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the others! I have the beginning of chapter 6 written as of now and I need to type that later, I can't forget. Don't want to lose readers like I did with my Harry Potter fics, which are also beginning to collect dust. Please read those too if you feel like it. IF YOU HAVE THE HEART! lol.

Congratulate me, I'm History Club President. Woo! lol. (has a National Treasure movie field trip set up) RIGHT LIZ? _(cough)_ field trip _(cough)_

Reviews are cool, so be a cool kid and review. :-)

* * *

REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER 4:

**Liz **- Wow. Didn't know it was THAT good. hmm. lol thanks bud. _(cough) (cough) **(HACK)**_

**chibi-youkai** - It's kind of funny you say all this because as I write this, I think how it would flow AS a movie and not as a story. Riley is VERY fun to write because of his craziness...Ben's a little harder because of HIS craziness. And it's also funny you say that Creole looks like French because the two main languages of Haiti are Creole and French, so the two are very, very similar. I hope you keep reading for the rest of this, it's going to get good. I have no idea how long it will be, however, I'll just keep writing until I finish. Hopefully no more then 12 chapters. Thank you so much for your review! Only 3 more to post chapter 5! (Wish you had me on author alert, but I'll suppose you'll come back for the next chapter...) Oh yes and I bet you'll feel good that I said your review made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!!!! These things make my day in a huge way.

**butterflykisses71** - Hahahaha It makes me very happy to see that people actually like my writing because believe it or not, I don't! I think I'm close to horrible! I write for everyone else, really. Thanks for reading!!

**Mercury Gray** - LOL I don't like Ian but I think that icon sounds funny lol. You should give me the link to your blog, I'd go! Yes we are all friggin geniuses hahahaha!! Thanks again!! Talk to you on AIM!

**DragonTamer** - As of now, I have 5 reviews and I haven't finished Chapter 5. That's a bit of a problem, isn't it? lol I'm glad people are reading at least. Hahaha Riley. He's so weird. Anyway, thank you much!

**Lia-L-Leonardson** - Wow! Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed chapter 5!!! 6 will be out soon I hope! But ITALICS add me to your author alert list ITALICS That is if you don't check as frequently....but STILL DO! lol. Thanks again.

**Scifi Kane **- Hahaha I'm glad you enjoyed it! Good luck with exams! I just had a few state tests last week. blaahhh. Eighth grade sucks. heh.

**sonsofpitchesfangirl** - Hey, thanks!! See? This proves that it's worthwhile to read people's fics! lol. I'm glad you liked it!!


	6. The Antidote

Captured  
Chapter 6  
The Antidote 

A/N: I found this picture, and this is perfect because at one part in this chapter, it's just before night time and they're on this ledge looking at the river... h t t p : w w w . e - o n s o f t w a r e . c o m / P r e s s / P i ct u r e s / A m a z o n . j p g thanks for the tip, elvenrarehunter! I hope this works...

The four crawled, exhausted onto the soft shore. Ben rolled on his back and closed his eyes, as if it would help him catch his breath, and slow his violently beating heart. The other three came after him, panting and dropping to the ground heavily like dead oxen. Ben opened his eyes again moments later after he'd only half begun to calm himself down, to watch the sky. Every cloud was gone from it now, besides small patches of dark smog, and the pink in the vast, jumbled blanket of abstract colors of orange, persisted, ever more defined. The sun was now halfway down to set. With a few brief thoughts, the history professor got to his feet. Riley looked up at Ben, his mouth lazily hanging open to breathe. He was gazing absently up at his protégé, looking as though he wasn't listening much or as if he had just chugged down 5 glasses of beer.

"We're going to find a place to set up camp for the night," Ben said decisively, briskly, as if he was aiming to put everyone in the happiest of moods once again. He bent over and removed the compass from the sack, turning his body inland.

"We can't stay here?" Riley panted, disappointed and whiny sounding.

"Every step is closer," Ben replied curtly, examining the compass in his palm. Riley took a deep breath and stumbled to his feet, glimpsing at his pruny fingertips.

"Lead on," he said, sighing, scratching his neck. Tom and Andy groaned and both dropped their heads simultaneously in the thick sand.

-

"So she looks at me and she says: "If I were to go out with you any longer, I probably would have had to gag myself with a big fat tarantula." "

"That's real original, what'd you say?"

"Well I told her that she'd be better off gagging herself with that tarantula if she was thinking about suicide, than with me."

"That's disgusting, Riley."

"That's why she smacked me and left the very next day, taking every single solitary thing of hers from my apartment. Oh, and then there was Jasmine, told me that she had to go on a business trip one day, and I saw her a week later at a motel with some old fat rich guy that owned an ice cream parlor. And I don't see how that was possible, because you know, an ice cream parlor - come on, let's get real here. How much money can you get out of that? A few dollars? Maybe 20 on a slow day. The guy must have had someone die in the family. Or he was a criminal. You know what, I think he was a criminal. He had that evil look in his eye when I saw him. Or maybe that was because I was looking at Jasmine's che - "

"Sounds like you've been dumped more times than you've put on your pants in the morning." Riley snorted, and stepped over a particularly large rock. "Women," he said, shaking his head.

"Well think about it this way...if you didn't have them, well then..."

"Never had it."

"Haven't you?" Ben mused, glancing back at his virgin partner, who looked behind him at something he could only see to get his friend's eyes off of him. Ben smiled, and looked back ahead.

"So, Jasmine...?"

"Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. It was pretty much the same thing." Riley sighed. "I guess the woman controls the man all the time anyway."

"Since when does the woman control the man?" Ben said, moving the branch of a dead tree out of his way. Riley, Tom, and Andy all held it away from them as they passed.

"I dunno...since like, Adam and Eve."

"Well, she probably told him to tuck in his shirt once because he looked like a dirty slob." Ben cocked an eyebrow, paused, and turned to Riley.

"Adam never had a shirt."

"...Oh right. They were naked." Pause. "Probably some things going on there then...you know...in that tree." Another pause. Ben cringed. They continued walking.

-

They hadn't entered the forest yet, but trees were appearing in the mushy ground more often, and they knew they had to be close. The ground was indeed muddy. It made squishing sounds when the party stepped on it, and bubbles formed in between fallen needles and leaves that were stuck almost permanently in the thing. The whole space below their feet was just an enormous mess, and splattered their shoes and pants. Riley wasn't particularly happy about this, and whined every time there was one of those said squishing sounds and the popping of a mud bubble. He forgot about it after a while. After the conversation stopped and he began to be too tired to move his mouth, and his eyelids became too heavy to keep open and the only things on his body that were moving were his two legs, following Ben by the scent of his strong cologne. His partner stopped unexpectedly, and looked to his left, his breath coming heavy from his nose and his nostrils flaring once in a while as if he were picking up an extremely potent scent. Riley nearly slipped and fell on his backside, knocking into Ben and grabbing firmly to his shoulder. His eyes closed again immediately. The taller man didn't move an inch. He just stood staring to the left, an absent look on his face.

"What?" Riley finally said, his mouth sticking together, when he still smelled Ben's cologne in a big invisible cloud around his head, indicating he hadn't moved. It did subside, though, when he moved to the side of an enormous gorge. A gorge that seemed to be holding onto the Amazon River with its gigantic hands. Riley opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, which was just beginning to blacken. The sun was setting now, and the violent pink surrounded it like a thick layer of strawberry cream. He looked over at Ben, who was staring at the river in a trance, and staggered, exhausted, toward him.

"Are you having one of those moments again?" he asked finally. Ben glanced at his friends, lookedback out over the gorge, and heaved a sigh.

"Do you think we'll ever find Ian? We're running out of time. They've probably left and moved on by now."

"Don't discourage yourself, Ben. We'll find them. Trust me."

"No, I trust you, Ri." Ben put an arm around his friend's shoulders. There was a long pause where both of them listened. Listened to the sounds around them. Birds, the wind, everything. It was so peaceful, so unlike Washington D.C., which was for the most part loud and disruptive.

"It's been what, 3 days?"

"Something like that, yeah," Riley said vaguely, still not fully there. Ben continued staring out at the river, a blank, determined expression on his face.

"We're so close. I can taste it. I can _taste_ it, Ri. That is...as long as they haven't moved."

"They haven't moved, Ben. You know...one time you said something. I never forgot it. You know what it was?"

"What?"

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."

"Actually Ben Franklin said that."

"Close enough, you know what I mean?" Riley pat Ben on the back, who smiled.

"He also said this: "To be proud of virtue, is to poison oneself with the antidote." Think about that." Ben took his arm off of Riley and knelt down next to the sack, while his friend stood there, deep in thought trying to figure out the puzzling quote. He looked at his sons, who were asleep on each other on the one patch of dry dirt there was in the area. He took out one of the blankets and threw it over them both, then looked at Riley.

"Ri. Come on, let's sleep here." Ben took one last look at the river, and took another blanket out of the sack, and laid it out on the ground carefully and meticulously. Riley descended to the ground after Ben had and the two lay there, looking up at the stars, now beginning to peek out of the falling darkness.

"Ya know what, Ben? I think I love you."

"Know what, Riley? I think you're insane. Or tired. Maybe both." Ben shook his head. "Go to sleep, Riley." The younger of the two closed his eyes, nodded, and went off to sleep. But Ben didn't sleep a wink that night. He did close his eyes for a small amount of time, and only opened them because of a loud sound. It was of a branch. A particularly large branch, splitting into two. Riley snorted, already asleep, at the disturbance. The sky was completely dark now, only a bit of the moon showing, and the stars dully twinkling around it. Ben ignored it, and closed his eyes once more.

"_Let go of me!_" They flashed open again. He knew that voice. Knew it all too well.

"Abigail!" He cried. Riley was still asleep, as were the twins, but he himself was now wide awake. He jumped to his feet, and ran to the side of the gorge. At the very bottom, he spotted one light, indicating that Ian was alone. And he had a smaller figure with him, who was thrashing about violently. Abigail. Ben was sure he couldn't get down there in time. But he still had to try. For her sake. He looked around fast, and saw two things: Ian had paused; he couldn't keep walking with the damsel fighting against him like that, and a clearing in the trees bordering the drop to the river. When he found that, he immediately looked back to where Ian was struggling with his wife, and watched as she thrust her elbow behind her, and ran away, while Ian bent over letting go a slight gagging noise. The blonde haired man turned his head up and watched to see where she was going, but seemed too paralyzed to move, but he had to: he couldn't let her go. This was Ben's chance. He ran to the clearing, and looked down. It was a path. A long indent that ended below, on the banks of the river. Because of the constant rain, however, the path looked like it had been flooded. It was sloppy. Muddy. Messy. Much unlike the dry patch of ground where the twins were sleeping. It wasn't raining now, though even the area around Ben's shoes was still very squishy. He hesitated, then sat down on the cold ground, and closed his eyes. He had to do it. It was uncomfortable and messy, but he had to do it. And he did. He pushed off of a large root next to him and he was sailing down towards the river. But it wasn't as fun as it could have been. Rocks nipped at his backside, mud splattered his face and hair, and gave his pants and white shirt a light coating. Twigs grabbed at his clothing, ripping and tearing it, and once they took care of that, they ripped at his skin, digging scratches into it, or turning it a raw looking red. He finally got to the bottom, and fell forward onto his stomach, determinedly keeping his head above the ground to spare his hair and face. He got to his feet and wiped droplets of dirt from his cheeks with the parts of his sleeves that weren't covered in the stuff, and looked around again. He didn't spot Ian though; only a mess of footprints up ahead, which he decided to follow. They led further down the banks, and as he walked, it began to get too swampy to walk too quickly in. If that wasn't enough, the prints had abruptly stopped after a few feet. Ben did the same, puzzled. Where had those two gone? They couldn't have disappeared into thin air. Although it was very dark. He could have been overlooking a cave or crevice or some hiding spot that they could have been easily concealing themselves with. He looked down at his feet. Mud was up to his shins now. Dark, almost black mud, most likely silt from the roaring Amazon. It was quiet again. His heart was slowing down, as well as his breathing. He kept his senses peaked for a while, but let the river's sounds sweep him away and let himself go. He sighed after a while, when he didn't hear any talking or yelling, gave up, turned himself around, and forced his feet to walk back the way he came.

-

"Uh, Ben...Ben - the Gates are open." Ben awoke to Riley's sarcastic voice, the man standing over his aching body. The mud had baked into his clothes and they were dry and stiff on his legs and chest. He pulled his eyelids open with a plethora of effort, and stared up at the sun, his best friend, and Tom and Andy.

"Wha'ja say?"

"Gates are open, Ben." Tom and Andy giggled.

"Wha ? Oh." Ben zipped up his fly, too tired to care, or be embarrassed at all. He sat up on the blanket he had been sprawled our on just seconds before, ran a hand through his hair, and rubbed his eyes.

"What happened to you?" Riley asked, squatting down next to his friend.

"I saw Abigail." Gasps from Tom and Andy.

"What?" Riley said excitedly.

"She was at the bottom of the gorge. I went down there, but by the time I got there...the two of them both had gone - she and Ian. I spent the rest of the night climbing back up."

"Why didn't you wake me up, Ben? We could have done it together!" Riley said anxiously, thumping Ben's chest.

"No use. I didn't even get down there in time." Ben sighed.

"Well, we need to find a doctor or something."

"Nah, I'm fine." He stood, holding onto Riley's shoulder for support. He stood up as well.

"We still makin' our way on foot or have you developed a highly intelligent new mode of transportation?"

"Wait, Shh..." Ben pressed a hand on Riley's chest. He looked down at the hand on him, and then followed the direction of Ben's gaze.

"Dad, what is that?" Tom whispered. There was a low rumbling sound coming from through the trees. Ben shook his head. He moved closer to the sound, as it got louder and louder. He stepped back after a few seconds.

"Get down!" He yelled, and brought Tom, Andy, and Riley close to him, just as a bright red Jeep emerged from the thin woods. The woman inside had on a black hat, with a string of shark teeth around the rim. It was much like a cowboy hat, with an indent on the top. The brim covered her forehead and left part of her face in a thick shadow. She had sandy blonde hair, and shockingly red lipstick matched her car, and coated her smiling lips. She stepped out, and her white shirt with the straps hanging off of the shoulders, instead on the sides of her arms, and her blue jeans were revealed. Two pointed black boots poked out from under them.

"Hey," she said, looking at the strange group of people, interested. Riley became aware of the looks of the group, and of the possibility he had extreme BO, and pulled away from his friend's arm. The woman was clearly Australian, and she was still smiling. She pushed her hat up, so her glowing green eyes were visible, blew a bubble with a chunk of bubble gum, and draped her arm over the door of her car, her weight on one foot.

"I'm Liz, who're you? You guys look like you need some clothes and some..." she took a whiff of the air, "Necessities. Hop in, I'll take you to my camp. I've got a helicopter back there too if you need it."

A/N: Liz. This was unintentional, actually. You were begging me to use your name. WHEN ALREADY - I had picked out her name to be Liz. Didn't tell you this piece of information. Anyway, I hope all you peeps liked the chapter...as I said, I've been busy and stuff and was writing today (Jan. 31st) in Technology, study hall, English, and pretty much any other time I got a chance during school, to finish it. AND - I finished my homework during study hall so I could get home, type and finish the rest of the chapter, and frame my National Treasure poster! Anyway, stay with me. Hopefully the other updates won't be as slow. I'm working on Keep Going too, if anyone who's reading that one is wondering. And now here are some review replies! I'd like some more too if you wouldn't mind-)

Inform me of any errors in the story..because I didn't really edit much because I wanted to hurry up and post it. It's been a while since I posted anything.

_ Tell me in your review if you want to see the Amazon pic! _

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REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER 5:

**MercuryGray:** Hahaha Merc. Thanks for reading, as usual! Still keeping up with your story as always!

**DragonTamer:** Thank you! I love these compliments! LOL! Action/Adventure is evil to write lol. It's hard writin it on here because people don't read them as much because they're usually not good. I'm glad you like this though! Thanks for readin!

**Liz:** lolol "HE SAID THE WORD F!" LOL. Yeah I hope she sets it up too. haha springy. Thaaaank you, Liz.

**Lia-L-Leonardson:** hahaha! I have fans! I'll read your HP fic! I'm always glad to read stuff that reviewers write cuz they were nice enough to read mine. I think everyone should do that. Riley is GREAT. lol he's one of the best characters. I love Ben so much and hes fun to write...but Riley's so awesome and so spontaneous and it's great. hahaha! Thank you so much!

**Melissa Brandybuck:** Read all of the NT stories in the category except for Heart Bound in Chains, and none of them have Ian taking hostages...but uh..thanks for reading, then.

**elvenrarehunter:** Yay! I like your review a lot! lol these things really make me happy. You have no idea how much they do! My review for yours was kind of dumb. lol. But, I will keep reading yours! lol thanks so much. Oh yes...and add me to your author alert if you don't mind. lol!

**Scifi Kane:** Hahaha It's funny how you always take breaks from studying to review! It makes me feel special! One thing that may be good about me hating what I write is this: I read an interview with JK Rowling and she said that it's good to not like what you write because it gives you room to improve, and want to improve. That's all I ever do is ever want to improve what I write. I'm planning on rewriting one of my Harry Potter fics (Golden Bell) - only the first few chapters, because I hate it. And see, JKR doesn't like what she writes at all, but she's like...amazing. So I guess that's a good sign. Oh, and the cliffie...I couldn't resist, I love them. -)


	7. You Got Family?

Captured  
Chapter 7  
You Got Family?

A/N: Here it is! I've returned from my sickly long absence of posting chapters of this story. I wrote most of this before I discovered Finding Neverland and began writing fanfiction for that category, but now National Treasure's out and I _finally _got back in the mood to finish Chapter 7. The beginning's old, and I haven't read it. I honestly don't want to, because I'll think it's horrible. I already suffered through reading my chapter 1. But anyway, for those who absolutely love this story (and I do know there are many by how many reviews I've gotten (dances) ) here's chapter 7! Enjoy! AND SEND MORE OF THOSE DELICIOUS REVIEWS!

P.S. There are A LOT of review replies at the bottom of this, so it's not as long as it looks. Give me some more to respond though, won't you? I love you all! And I'll love you all even more if you read! Please? K, thanks.

OoOoO

The Jeep rumbled along the bumpy forest floor. In the back, Ben felt every bump that they hit, his hurt arm aching. He held tight to the bottom of his seat with his good hand as if he would fall right out of the car at any given time. Riley and the twins seemed to be enjoying themselves though. Ben looked out of the open window. The boulder sized tires had just narrowly missed a brightly colored lizard. They rolled over a tree root and the car jumped. Ben squeezed the cloth chair ever tighter. No one spoke a word for about ten minutes of the ride, then Liz looked in her rear-view mirror.

"You're kinda cute. You got family?"

"Who, me?" Ben asked uneasily, his voice wobbling. He was a bit shaken by the ride, and Liz's seemingly careless driving. The car swerved dangerously away from a tree. He looked out the window again, upwards. Those things seemed to be 100 feet tall, he thought. Only spots of light breaking through the canopies above, and coming down to the ground in delicate, narrow beams. The forest was all around them. Noises echoing, bouncing off everything. It was alive.

"No, your friend," Liz replied.

"Me?" Riley said, pointing to himself.

"This one may chop you up in her backyard when she's finished with you," Ben muttered. Riley elbowed him in the gut.

"Yes, you. Got family?"

"Well, uh...my parents still live in South Carolina and I haven't seen my older brother in ages - "

"Not that kind of family." Pause. The tired ground a fallen tree branch into two. Then Riley began spluttering out little pieces of words. It was impossible to tell what he was saying, or trying, to say.

"Didn't see a ring anywhere, I don't think," Liz said, looking back ahead, an almost unnoticed smile crawling playfully across her ruby lips. Riley's cheeks turned almost the same color.

"Actually, no," he replied timidly. Liz nodded. Ben looked out the window again, beginning another long silence.

"Dad, can we get a dog?" Andy piped up after a few minutes. The car went over another tree root, causing the riders to jump about two inches above their seats.

"No," Ben replied absently, straightening himself once more.

"Oh, come on. You never let us do anything," Tom said, while his father turned his head to look at him.

"Never let you do anything? I'll tell ya - if I don't see high grades in Social Studies, I really won't let you do anything. That teacher didn't look like you two here her absolute favorite students of all time."

"We do good in Social Studies," Tom grumbled.

"We'll look after him," Andy said, hoping that with that he may convince his dad with that, but he didn't give it much attention. Ben did a double take at the rear view mirror up front and noticed Liz's eyes on him, that mocking smile still stretched across her face.

"Hi," Ben said, a little uncomfortable. "So, where are we going, anyway?"

"I've got a camp a ways in the forest. A few of the guys that are with us have a ton of extra clothes. And, uh," she pushed herself up in her seat so she could get a better look of the party's clothes in the rear-view, "You look like some new clothes would do you some good."

"What about the kids?" Ben asked.

"Can't really do much for them," Liz said, "But we can try and improvise. And food - "

"What about food?" Riley said, his attention now back on the conversation. "You got food?"

"Yeah, we got food."

"Oh thank God," Riley said, relaxing.

"Don't worry, I'll fix you guys up in no time. So, anyway. What are your names?" Introductions were made, and then Liz asked what the four were doing overseas. Ben looked at Riley, and he returned the same worried look.

"I'd rather not...explain that at the moment," Ben said curtly. The Jeep continued through the forest.

OoOoO

They pulled in to a small clearing in the trees. Stumps dotted the area, and Riley noticed they had just been cut because of tiny bits of sawdust in the dirt. Liz stepped out of the car, closed her door, and led them to a tent. She crawled inside and found for Ben and Riley each a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and two smaller shirts and pants for the twins. Then she instructed them to go somewhere in the grass and change. Ben raised an eyebrow.

"In the woods."

"Unless you want to try and change yourself in a tent. I wouldn't recommend it. Hank tried to do that and it collapsed on him. We didn't find him for a few hours."

"We didn't ask...what are ITALICS you ITALICS here for?" Ben asked. Liz smiled.

"Glad you asked. We're scientists - 'we' meaning me and the other 4 of my crew. They're not here though - off scouting. There's a disease going around the plant life in the forest. We're trying to figure out what's causing it and how we can prevent it. It hasn't been easy, though. Anyway, I recommend you go change. I've got to go, and I'll be back in a few hours. You guys can make yourself at home." She turned to leave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ben said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him. "See, we can't do that. We're looking for someone. And we have to find them as soon as possible."

"Looking for someone?" Liz asked.

"A...friend - well," Riley looked at Ben, trying to figure out what Ian was. "An old co-worker..."

"And he's somewhere in the Amazon?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ben replied. Liz looked thoughtful.

"What's he look like?"

"Blonde hair, blue eyes," Riley said, thinking. They hadn't seen Ian in a while. "Oh, and he's got a british accent." Liz thought again.

"He come with a woman?" she asked finally. Ben's heart jumped into his throat.

"You've seen them?" He said alarmed.

"Yeah, we've seen them. Greg and Gary have been following their route since yesterday since they discovered they were here."

"Who are Greg and Gary?" Riley asked.

"A couple of guys I'm with."

"So you're here with a bunch of other guys protecting wildlife...? Sounds a little strange to me."

"It's not, really," she said, almost completely serious.

"Where are they?" Ben asked, trying hard to ignore Riley.

"Hang on." Liz took a blue odd-shaped walkie-talkie off of her belt and held it in front of her face. "Greg and Gary. Come in. Over," she said into it. There was a slight pause and a crackle, then a voice came out of the speaker.

"Yeah, Lizzy, we're here. Over."

"This Greg?"

"Yeah."

"How're the undesirables doing?"

"They're still in the same place. I don't like that man, though. He keeps dragging the woman along with him." Ben and Riley exchanged glances. That was Ian, alright.

"Okay, well, I found the party of four. Turns out they're looking for the pair that you found."

"Are they with you?"

"Sure, they're right here. How long do you think it would take to get where you guys are?"

"Probably a day at the very least if you don't take as many breaks as we have. We've just been following them the whole time, makin' sure they're not the source of the disease."

"A day?" Liz asked. She was hoping it would be only a few hours.

"Well we're a ways away from the camp now."

"Half the day's over."

"Then take a break to sleep. We'll follow them and update you over the radio if something changes."

"Then he caught her," Ben muttered to himself.

"What?" Riley said. Ben shook his head. He hadn't told Riley everything about the night before yet.

"Thanks, Greg." Liz stuck the radio back on her belt. "Better get dressed," she said. "If you're on a time constraint, we better get moving now."

OoOoO

Riley changed on one side of the small campsite, while Ben changed on the other. Tom and Andy were already finished and were chatting with each other in Liz's red Jeep.

"Hey." Ben spun around. There was Liz, as sly as ever, slipping in and out of places almost completely unnoticed. Much like someone he had seen in a movie...some butler...the name slipped his mind. Liz had moved a branch and found Ben there, his new, clean shirt around his neck.

"My pants could have been off!" he said, a bit offended, but relieved that this wasn't the truth. "God, you scared me."

"Sorry," she said.

"It's okay." He pulled the black shirt over his head, the bandages around his arm not helping with the task. He could actually take them off. The pain wasn't that horrible stinging feeling anymore. It just ached. He began to unroll the fabric, and Liz's eyes found the slowly healing gash that they had covered.

"What happened?" she asked, not in a concerned or worried voice, but as though people were injured like that every day.

"Fish bit me. On the reef back at the Caribbean," he replied, inspecting it himself. "It's happened before. I dive." Liz watched him run his fingers over it, and occasionally glanced at his face. Then she spoke.

"Is she your wife? The person you're looking for? the woman?" Ben nodded and looked at her face, finding her glancing at his gold wedding band. He looked at it as well and sighed.

"He who lives upon hope will die fasting," he said simply. Liz smiled.

"Who said that?"

"Ben Franklin."

"Hm." She thought a moment, then smiled. "Well, I don't think you're going to die fasting at this point. We know exactly where the two are. We just have to get there." Ben nodded. Another pause. "Amazing," she said finally, "That you'd go so far for her. All the way to South America." Ben threw his foot up onto a tree and began tying his shoe.

"Yeah well, she was kidnapped. By a...former associate."

"The blond guy?"

"Yeah, the blond guy. Ian."

"I see. Well, I still think it's amazing that you'd have the courage to go...to go to the ends of the Earth like that. I admire that." Ben shrugged and began tying the other shoe.

"I've had to use that kind of said courage before...but we won't get into that." Liz smiled.

"Too bad you're married," she said. Ben put his foot down. "I wouldn't marry anyone but Abigail. And that's a promise," he said.

"No, I understand. I'm just lookin' for someone. Does...does Riley have a girlfriend?" For some reason, Ben was taken aback by the question. He cleared his throat and put his thumbs in the pockets of his clean jeans. "No, he's...he's pretty single. No, he's very single. Very."

"Hm," Liz responded, gazing vaguely over her shoulder, hands on her hips. A butterfly flew past her nose, bringing her back to Earth. "Anyway. We should get going if we want to make some time." Ben nodded, gathering up his muddy clothes. He wasn't even sure what to do with them once he got home. The mud was caked on, yes, and could be taken off, yes - but it might have stained. It wasn't worth it.

She and Ben moved the branch and headed to the Jeep. Riley was leaning back against the car, his heels digging into the dirt next to the cloth sack.

"Hey, Ri," Ben said, closing in on it. He shoved his own dirty clothes into it, picked it up, and threw it in the trunk. "Kids in the car?" he got in the front seat.

"Yeah," Riley responded, getting in next to Andy. Liz climbed in herself and started the car. Riley leaned in forward in his seat, elbows resting on the back of Liz's and Ben's chairs, poking their shoulders. Ben looked puzzled at the alien and intrusive body part, his right eyebrow slightly raised.

"When are we eating something?" he asked, looking at Liz. She thrusted a sandwich in a Ziploc bag under his nose.

"Here's yours," she said, smiling. Riley took it and looked at it.

"This is it?" He said. "When I asked if we were eating something, I was referring to _actual _food."

"Well, what were you expecting, Ri? We don't have a whole lot." Ben buckled his seatbelt, remembering the colossal bumps on the forest floor that they had encountered. Liz started up the car and with a lurch they were off.

"I don't know...whatever." He tossed it absently over his shoulder and leaned forward. "So what do we do once we find Abigail? I mean, our helicopter isn't exactly in the place we would all like it to be, is it? Unless, you know...you _want_ it at the bottom of the sea..."

"Same way we left the Arctic, remember? We find someone with a helicopter."

"Somehow I don't think someone random guy on the street's going to be keeping one folded up in their pocket, Ben." Liz let a tiny smile go, and she looked at Riley in the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah, I know _that, _but - "

"Dad, maybe one of the scientist guys has one," Tom said. Ben, Riley, and Andy looked at him.

"He's right," Andy said.

"Yeah, I wonder where he gets that from," Riley said.

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult, Riley, but I think he's onto something. Liz?"

"Hm?" She was still smiling. Ben looked at her. He asked the question, though knowing he didn't really need to by the look on her face. "Do you have a helicopter?"

"Yes, I do."

"Could we borrow it?" Riley asked her.

"Yes you may. In fact, I could drop you home after you get to finding your wife." She glanced vaguely at Ben, making sure he could tell she was directing that to him. Riley's smile nearly tore his cheeks apart, and Ben and the boys looked just as excited with him.

"These few days might not be as bad as I thought." Riley leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes, and the Jeep rumbled on.

OoOoO

Ben sat in front of a campfire late that night, thinking hard about how he'd have to conduct himself and the others. He hadn't seen Ian in a very long time, and in just a few days, the short meeting he'd have with him would determine the entire rest of his life. If he didn't get Abigail back, he wouldn't know what to do. He looked in the direction of the Jeep, where he had heard, just a few moments before, Riley's long, drawn out snores. But they were quiet now.

Liz offered the tent that she had in the trunk of her car to Ben and Riley, but Ben insisted (looking at the offended face of Riley) to her that she should sleep in her tent, and they'd sleep in the Jeep. The boys had camped out on a pile of leaves a few feet away from the campfire, and were now fast asleep, their soft snores echoing off of the trees that towered high above them. But, Riley's weren't heard at all. He must have woken up. This wondering was answered, when he emerged from Liz's tent, a smile on his face that could only be on a man who had just gotten something he had really, really wanted...

"Hey, chief," he said, plopping himself drunkenly down next to his best friend.

"Hey," Ben responded, picking the bark off a twig.

"Feelin' down again?"

"Nah, not really, just...just thinking." Riley swung his arm across his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah." Ben looked at him funny, and explained why he had.

"What's your problem?"

"Oh, nothing. No problem with me at all." He gave a little giggle like a five year old girl and walked back over to the Jeep. "Night," he said over his shoulder.

"Night..."

A/N: Can anyone tell me the movie that Ben was referring to? LOL. I bet a lot of people can, cause it's a great movie.

If you didn't like this chapter much, don't worry, there's more on the way! I'm determined to finish this. So, stay with me and send reviews!

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REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER 6: (and there are a LOT of them..look for your name!)

**Mercury Gray **- I'm not sure I know what you mean. The huge chunks I hope are good because...I'm trying to be a little bit more descriptive because if you read the beginning chapters over, you'll notice it's mostly dialogue. The Gates open part was the thing i was telling you about! "Nic, your Cage is open," "Ben, your Gates are open" IT'S FUNNY! lol...anyway. Thanks for reading again!

**elvenrarehunter** - hahaha! I sent a review to one of your fics to give you the picture website. You didn't have an email posted on your profile, so I just used that. I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, she nabs him in the stomach. I had to...AND YES HE DOES DESERVE IT. Going and stealing people like that. Naughty naughty. You should lock him up in a cage in your room and never let him go. I'm sure you'd get some enjoyment out of that anyway. Ha! Anywho, I'm happy you enjoyed, that's what I'm aimin for! Thanks!

_(you said you reread: ) _I'm glad you reread it! It's nice to see people liking this! I'm glad the picture did work, I was worried it might not.

**Liz** - Eh heh...yes I did put your name in the story. But she's definitely not you. As you can tell. Thanky much for readin!

**Lia-L-Leonardson** - Yay! I'll read it when you post! And that's a promise! I'm always happy to read the fics of reviewers because they took the time to read and review mine. I'm glad you liked it, there's more to come! STICK AROUND!

**DragonTamer** - Heh I'm glad I am pleasing you. Your reviews are so fun to read lol. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I might have told you that before...or someone else. I don't recall. ANYWAY, thank you for being the faithful reader that you are!

_(You checked up on the NT category and sent another review:) _Yeah, I figured that would happen. Pretty smart, aren't I? (wink) Hope you enjoyed the update.

**Like A Wind** - Thanks for all the great comments! Yeah, Ben and Abigail are the reason Tom and Andy are so smart and junk...Re: to the Haiti people...I mentioned that at the beginning of the chapter. It depends what part of Haiti you're in...I went there on a Caribbean cruise and everyone at the part we visited were super duper friendly. Whereas as in other parts, you could easily get shot in the street. ANYWAY Thank you so much for reading! I was so glad to see a review from a new reader!

P.S. thanks for adding me to Author Alert too! That makes me HAPPY! o)

**Wolfgirl64** - Yay! I'm glad you're likin this! I thought you might. I just watched Monk. Oh man. LOL KoRn. Anywho, thanks for readin as always!

**EViv **- WOW. YOU WIN BEST REVIEW IN THE WORLD. haha! That he is! Thanks so much for reading!

(_You reviewed my author's note:) _Yes, NT does rock. lol hope you liked the update.

**Scifirogue Kane** - Hmm, someone change their pennname? ;-) Thank you for all the nice compliments and such! Yeah, that's what I do too with stories on There's one author - I read her new chapters usually before I go to bed because they're not too exciting (not in a bad way - I mean, not a lot of action and stuff) and I don't have to look for Ben everywhere because it's all about Ian. I usually don't like stories centered completely around Ian, but hers is very good. You might want to check it out - it's called An Artist's Touch by: Mercury Gray. If you see this, Merc - I hope you're honored I'm recommending your story! Anyh00 - thanks for reading! Good luck on those chapter questions, I know those things - they're SO boring.

**SwirlStar** - Thank you so much for reading! (and reviewing - which I love) When people review and ask to read their stories, I always oblige, because it's a nice thing to do if they took the time to read yours! I like your story a whole lot so far, and I hope you like mine!

**Lycanthropia** - Hahaha gotta love Riley. Sorry for the super slow update...

**Ari: **Well, you know me...nothing I do is good enough...that's ok, as long as YOU like it. And about the mental image you got of Riley swimming in the nude...I don't think it was _interesting..._I think it made ya kinda horny. hahaha! luvya.

**Ithilien Dreams: **And I have carried on writing this! I hope that you saw this update and decided to read. Yeah, the twins will be in it more as it goes along; from writing Finding Neverland I just remembered how fun little kids are to write! Thanks for reading!

**EMBER91: **Wow you sent me a lot of reviews. Here I go...

_For Chapter 1: _The war thing...I had no idea how to present them, so that just kind of came out of my head haha! Happy you enjoyed it!

_For Chapter 2: _You'll just have to see if Abi will be okay. (wink) And yes, Ian has many problems. haha

_For Chapter 4: _I get excited myself when writing exciting parts haha that's probably cuz the rest of my life is boring lol

_For Chapter 5: _Yeah, they're oaky. haha.

_For Chapter 6: _lol THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN IN THE BIG RED JEEP. That was funny, I should have named her that.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope I see a review from you for this chapter!

**Skwerl Hugger 15: **Aww thanks. I guess I kinda do have a gift, considering the writing of other people...I won't name names. (no, Ari, in case you're reading this, I don't mean you.) Thanks so much...I hope I see a review from you for this chapter!

**Moonjava: **lol thanks, I'm glad you think so! Hope you read this chapter! (REVIEW! lol I LOVE reviews)


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